Retractable line putting trainer and methods

ABSTRACT

A retractable line putting trainer includes a spool unit including a spring-retractable tape in a tape housing supported on a base plate. The leading end of the tape is attached to a stand. The spool unit is placed at the cup or hole on a green and the tape extends out from the spool unit as the stand is pulled away to a desired ball position. Markings on the tape may visually indicate distance to the cup, back stroke position and front stroke position of the putter swing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Putting in the game of golf is highly challenging to many players.

Success in putting involves many factors including distance to the cup, slope of the green, speed of the green, club grip and swing, and perhaps others. Many devices have been proposed to help players improve their putting skills. Several of these include measuring distance to the cup and other parameters. However, challenges remain in helping golfers to improve putting skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A retractable line putting trainer includes a spool unit including a spring-retractable tape in a tape housing supported on a base plate. A stand has a stand base with a leading end of the tape attached to the stand. The spool unit and the stand may have complementary surfaces engaging each other when the trainer is not in use. The spool unit and/or the stand may have a flat bottom surface, with two or more holes in the flat surface for securing the spool unit in place on the green. In use, the spool unit is placed at the cup and the stand is pulled away from the spool unit and placed adjacent to a desired ball position, with the tape tensioned between the spool unit and the stand. The player swings the putter under the tape to practice putting. The has markings indicating distance to the cup, and optionally swing start and stop positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, the same reference number indicates the same element in each of the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retractable line putting trainer in use.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trainer of FIG. 1 in a closed or storage position.

FIG. 3 is a front exploded perspective view of the trainer.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the trainer.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the trainer in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIG. 1, a retractable line putting trainer 10 has a spool frame or unit 12, a stand 14, and a tape 16 connecting them. The tape 16 has markings to indicate distance, such as centimeter or inch markings. The tape 16 may be a flexible metal, plastic or textile strip. A string, wire or rope may also be used, with the term tape including all of these variations. In the example shown, the tape is a thin and lightweight transparent plastic material. The tape may also include backstroke markings 18A and front stroke or swing stop markings 18B, to provide visual indicators to the player on where to start and stop the putting swing, based on distance to the cup 100.

The spool frame 12 has a base 20 on a base plate 22 which may have a wider back section and a narrower front section 24. The base plate 22 typically has a flat bottom surface to allow the spool frame 12 to sit upright on a green. The base 20 may be provided as a bridge or platform 26 having a flat top surface 28, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, with an open space 46 under the platform 26. An overhang 30 may be provided at the front of the platform 26, forming a recess 32 between the overhang 30 and the front section 24 of the base plate 22. Holes 34 in the base plate 22 may be used to anchor the spool frame in place on the green by pushing a tee through each hole 34 and into the ground, with the head of the tee preventing the base plate 22 from lifting. An angled back plate or surface 36 of the platform 26 may include clips 38 for holding a tape rod 68.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the tape 16 is wound on a spool 58 which may be contained within a spool housing 50 formed via a left shell 52 attached to a right shell 54 via shell pins 66, snaps, fasteners, adhesives, or other means. A spool plate 60 retains the coiled tape 16 in alignment on the spool 58. The spool 58 is rotatably supported on an axle 56 on the left shell extending into a socket 72 on the right shell. A coil spring 64 attached to or engaged with the spool 58 and the axle 56 exerts winding torque on the spool 58. A roller blind lock and release mechanism or a brake may also be included to allow the spool to be locked against the torque of the spring 64 with the tape 16 pulled out to any desired length. A tab 62 may be attached onto the leading end of the tape 16.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 the spool housing 50 is shown as attached onto the top surface 28 of the platform 26 via mounting holes 40. In alternative designs, the spool housing may be combined with the platform 26. The platform 26 may also be omitted entirely, with the spool housing 50 attached directly onto the base plate 22 or made integral with the base plate. In another design option, the entire spool frame 12 may be provided as a spool housing 50 with vertical holes in mounting tabs, a base plate or through the spool housing itself, with the vertical holes used for securing the unit in place on a green.

Referring still to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the stand 14 in the example shown has a stand base 80 including side walls or rails 82 forming a slot 90. The stand 14 may include a horizontal foot 84 and an upright arm 86 which optionally extends inward towards the spool frame 12 at an angle AA generally ranging from 30 to 80 degrees. The tape 16 is attached at or near the top of stand 14. The tape 16 may be attached via a cap 92 attached onto a flat top 88 of the arm 86. In this design, the tab 62 on the leading end of the tape 16 may be inserted into a cap slot 94. A pin 96 may pivotally attach the tab 62 to the cap 92. The stand 14 may have a front surface 98 at a angle complementary to angle AA relative to the stand base 80.

The stand 14 is used to provide a fixed position for the leading end of the tape. Consequently, stands having varying designs may be used while omitting various of the elements discussed above.

Turning to FIG. 2, in the stored position the stand 14 may be designed to engage or fit with the spool frame 12. In the example shown, this is achieved via the foot 84 of the stand positioned within the recess 32, and the front section 24 of the base plate 22 positioned within the slot 90. An angled front surface 76 of the spool housing 50 and angled front wall 44 of the platform 26 may be parallel to a back surface 99 of the arm 86 shown in FIG. 4, and with the surface 76 and wall 44 laying against or in contact with the surface 99. As shown in FIG. 2, the front section 24 of the base plate may have a curved front edge 42 that projects slightly out from the front of the stand base 80, or be largely flush with it. The cap 92 may be flush with the top surface of the spool housing 50. When viewed from the side, the device 10 in the stored position may have appear as half of a hexagon.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, in use the spool frame 12 is placed at the cup or hole 100 on the green. The curved front edge 42 of the base plate 22 may be curved to match the cup diameter, typically about 10 cm. The spool frame 12 is secured in place behind the cup by pushing tees through the holes 34 in the base plate 22 and into the green, with the front edge 42 aligned with the cup 100 as shown in FIG. 1. The stand 14 is separated from the spool frame 12 and pulled away from the spool frame with the spool 58 unwinding to pay out the tape 16.

The stand 14 may then be secured in place on the green by pushing tees through the holes 34 in the stand base 80 and into the green. This prevents the spool spring 64 from pulling the stand 14 back towards the spool frame 12. The tension exerted on the tape by the spool spring, and the light weight of the tape 16 allows the extended tape to remain largely straight with little bowing. The stand 14 holds the tape 8-16 or 10-14 cm above the green. The player stands alongside the tape placing the ball 110 and the putter head 112 on the green underneath the tape 16.

The back stroke markers 18A may be used to indicate the appropriate back stroke of the putting swing, based on the distance to the cup. For example, with the ball 2.1 meters (7 feet) from the cup, the appropriate back stroke position i.e., the starting position of the putter swing, is indicated by marking 18A. The ball is placed in front of the selected marking 18A by a distance (towards the cup 100) which allows the putter to contact the ball at the bottom and center of the swing. Swing stop markings 18B may also optionally be included on the tape to provide a visual indicator of where the swing should stop.

If the green has a break or tilt between the ball and the cup, the rod 68 may be used to deflect the tape laterally, so that the tape approximates the break. With the spool frame 12 and the stand 14 set up as described above, the an intermediate section of the tape is threaded into the plate slot 78 in the plate 70 and the rod is pushed into the green at a position laterally offset to one side of the original straight line position of the tape. This pulls the tape 16 essentially into two angled segments to approximate the break and provide an approximate visual ball path to the cup. Additional rods 68 may be similarly used to more closely approximate a path from the ball position to the cup.

The putting trainer 10 is returned to the storage position shown in FIG. 2 by removing the tees holding the spool frame 12 and the stand 14 on the green and allowing moving back together, with the spool spring 64 winding the tape 16 back up on the spool 58. In the example shown, when in the storage position, the trainer 10 has a length of 10-20 cm, a width of 6 to 10 cm and a height of 10-15 cm.

As used here, the green may of course be an actual golf course green, or any other suitable practice surface. Of course, the spool frame and the stand may be held down onto the green in other ways, for example using spikes, wedges, clamping or gripping elements, etc. With modifications to allow the spool frame 12 and the stand 14 to be fixed in place against the spring force, putting trainer 10 may also be used on surfaces without any cup, such as carpeting, artificial turf, etc. Such modifications may include providing a gripping device onto the bottom surfaces of the spool frame and the stand, or adding weights to them. For these types of uses, a flat plastic or paper template may be used as a substitute for the cup.

Generally, the leading end of the tape 16, with or without a tape tab 62, may be permanently attached to the stand, in the sense that in ordinary course the tape remains attached to the stand and is intended to remain attached to the stand. An element described as being aligned or in contact with another element includes variations where the element may also be spaced slightly apart, i.e, up to 4 mm. An element described as being parallel or complimentary with another elements includes variations of up to 5 or 10 degrees.

Thus, a novel putting trainer has been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A retractable line putting trainer, comprising: a spool frame having a base plate; a spool rotatably supported on the spool frame; a measuring tape wound on the spool; a stand engageable with the spool frame and with an end of the measuring tape attached onto the stand.
 2. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 with the end of the measuring tape attached to a top surface of the stand.
 3. The golf putting trainer of claim 2 with the first end of the measuring tape pivotally attached to the top surface of the stand.
 4. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 with the base plate having a front section slidable into a base slot in the stand.
 5. The golf putting trainer of claim 2 further including a platform on the base plate and the spool contained in a spool housing on the platform.
 6. The golf putting trainer of claim 5 with the first end of the measuring tape extending out of a tape slot in the spool housing and with the tape slot at the same height as the top surface of the stand.
 7. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 with a foot on the stand adapted to slide into a recess in the spool frame.
 8. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 with the base including a stand base, a foot at a front end of stand base and an upright arm joined to the foot and to the stand base, and through holes in the stand base on opposite sides of the upright arm.
 9. The golf putting trainer of claim 8 with the upright arm forming an acute angle AA with a top surface of the foot.
 10. The golf putting trainer of claim 9 with the spool housing having a front surface at an angle complementary to angle AA.
 11. The golf putting trainer of claim 3 with the first end of the tape attached to a tab pivotally attached to a cap permanently attached to the top of the stand.
 12. The golf putting trainer of claim 11 further including a foot on the stand adapted to slide into a recess in the spool frame, with the spool in the spool housing, and with the cap substantially contacting the spool housing when the stand is engaged with spool frame.
 13. The golf putting trainer of claim 6 with the tape slot above the base plate by 8-20 cm.
 14. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 further including a tape positioning rod releasably attached to the spool frame.
 15. The golf putting trainer of claim 1 with the tape having a length of at least 3 meters.
 16. A putting training device comprising: a spool unit including a spring-retractable tape in a tape housing supported on a base plate having a flat bottom surface, with two or more holes in the base plate for securing the spool unit in place on a green; and a stand unit having a stand base with two or more holes for securing the stand unit in place on a green, and with a leading end of the tape attached to the stand unit.
 17. The putting training device of claim 16 with the spool unit and the stand having complimentary engaging surfaces.
 18. The putting training device of claim 17 with the complimentary engaging surfaces comprising a foot on the stand projecting into a recess in the spool unit.
 19. The putting training device of claim 17 further including back stroke and distance markings on the tape. 